Фішка біля карти.

In Ukrainian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Фішка біля карти.
  literally looks like Chip/token near the map/card.
• but it naturally means The chip/token is near the map/card.

This is completely normal Ukrainian. If you want past or future, then a form of бути appears:

• Фішка була біля карти. = The token was near the map/card.
• Фішка буде біля карти. = The token will be near the map/card.

Because the preposition біля requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• карта = map / card

After біля, it changes to the genitive singular:

• біля карти = near the map/card

So the pattern is:

• карта → карти
• фішка → фішки if it were also put in the genitive

This is one of the most common things to learn with Ukrainian prepositions: many of them force a specific case.

Біля takes the genitive.

Examples:

• біля будинку = near the house
• біля столу = near the table
• біля машини = near the car
• біля карти = near the map/card

So when you see біля, you should expect the next noun to be in the genitive.

Here фішка most likely means a game piece, token, counter, or chip.

Depending on context, фішка can mean different things:

• in board games: a piece/token
• in casinos or poker: a chip
• in informal speech: a special feature, gimmick, or cool trick

In this sentence, because it is next to карти, the physical-object meaning is the most likely one.

It can be either, because карта in Ukrainian can mean:

• map
• card (for example, bank card, playing card, etc.)

And карти can be the genitive singular of карта in either meaning.

So only the broader context tells you which one is intended.

Also, even though карти can look like a plural form in some contexts, after біля it is understood here as genitive singular, because біля requires that case.

Here is the breakdown:

• Фішка

  • noun
  • feminine
  • singular
  • nominative
  • this is the subject

• біля

  • preposition
  • requires the genitive case

• карти

  • noun
  • feminine
  • singular
  • genitive
  • object of the preposition біля

So structurally the sentence is:

• [subject in nominative] + [prepositional phrase with genitive]

No, Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible.

Фішка біля карти is a natural, neutral way to say it. But you could also say:

• Біля карти фішка.

That version is possible, but it changes the emphasis a bit. It sounds more like you are focusing on the location first: Near the map/card is the token or It’s the token that’s near the map/card.

In beginner learning, it is safest to treat:

• subject + location

as the most neutral pattern.

A simple stress-marked version is:

• Фі́шка бі́ля ка́рти

Rough pronunciation guide:

• фі sounds somewhat like fee
• шка like shka
• біля is roughly BEE-lya
• карти is roughly KAR-ty

A more natural whole-sentence approximation:

• FEE-shka BEE-lya KAR-ty

A few notes:

• ш is like English sh
• я in біля gives a lya sound
• Ukrainian и in карти is not exactly English ee or ih; it is a short central vowel learners usually approximate at first

Ukrainian has no articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• Фішка can mean a token, the token, or just token in a general sense
• карти can mean of a map/card or of the map/card

Context tells you what is meant.

That means one short Ukrainian sentence can correspond to several English versions, depending on the situation.

Yes. That is a very useful comparison.

• біля карти = near the map/card
• поруч з картою = next to / beside the map/card

The important grammar difference is:

• біля
  • genitive → біля карти
• поруч з
  • instrumental → поруч з картою

So both can express similar ideas, but they use different prepositions and different cases.

Yes. In this sentence, both фішка and карта are feminine nouns, and their dictionary form ends in -а.

That often happens in Ukrainian, though not every noun ending pattern is perfectly predictable in every case.

Here the feminine pattern helps explain the genitive singular ending:

• карта → карти

This is a very common feminine declension pattern, and you will see it again and again with nouns ending in -а.